I voted Coven because I like the music, the design of the camp. The only thing disturbing is the permanent buff you have when you check your stash. Impossible to get the right info on your resistances and then I have to migrate to Devil's Crossing.

for GD stashing rats that aura is indeed very annoying as it affects the momentum and speed of min maxing build. . Lets petition for it to move a litle bit farther so not to affect the player shall we?

I need to listen to the Port Valbury one again cause I forgot it even had a track

Quote:

Originally Posted by x1x1x1x2

The coven is located in a pretty sweet spot.

Surrounded by Cannibals, the God of Cannibals, an Eldritch being worshiped as a deity by Slith, an Ancient Garden that has been plagued with Aetherial and Chthonic corruption and lastly a rift gate to the Void's Edge itself.

Personally I like the Coven Haven the most I enjoy outdoors surrounded by nature style environments/encampments personally. That it's also a gloomy zone with interesting plant and animal life is just a bonus. My Tricksters, Warders, and Witch Hunters, the only classes I enjoy playing, are right at home in this location.

The darkness and gloom of the Sewer sanctuary nearly won out, but sadly those light worshipers went and moved to the surface.

Which is your favorite starting town or base in the game? Besides voting on the poll I'd love to hear your thoughts below. The reason could the aesthetics, quests, mathway, NPCs, Music, symbolism etc.

FYI,
Rover's Camp and Barrowholm aren't bases.

1. Devil's Crossing -

Spoiler!

The place where it all starts for our PC. Arguably the most pleasant music in vanilla birthday wishes (imo)

Has some neat repair side-quests and a bunch of rescue quests which are my favorite quest types. The NPCs of the this town are all interesting to talk to despite not all of them being relevant to the main plot. Even the ones you rescue and bring back as you explore the game have some interesting tales to tell.

The the entire questline of Devil's Crossing is just about survival and nothing more. They don't ask you to go out there and kill every enemy you encounter but to kill the ones that that threaten the settlement. You only do what is necessary of surviving.

In Ashes of Malmouth the base "livens up" even more. I personally loved this one. Quite frankly I haven't been this attached to a town since Rogue
Encampment and Harrogath.

2. Homestead -

Spoiler!

The first town/base you encounter after Devil's Crossing. Has the most repair quests (my favorite kind of quests )

This is where the major plot\theme shift happens. You go from helping a small settlement of survivors to battling an otherworldly threat in the quest-line of this town. Although the transition is pretty smooth and is therefor pretty good imo.

A bunch of interesting and plot relevant NPCs are here including Daila Thornsbury, Inquisitor Creed, myanimelist,Captain Somer and Ulgrim. This is also the base where you make contact with the Necromancers and with the poor chaps known as Korvaak's..err..Kymon's Chosen

The music here is pretty awesome as well and fits the theme of the base.
The placement of this settlement surrounded by beasts, aetherials and chthonians is a perfect representation of humanity's situation (before you start whooping the enemy's ass)

3. Fort Ikon -

Spoiler!

This is the your base for Act IV which is the final act of the base game. It doesn't have any repair quests or any side quests (besides Anasteria's quest). The questline involves you hitting stuff with a stick and ends with you battling a giant pornstar.

Surprisingly enough I liked it. The way the enemies are placed around the base not only shows just how bad humanity's situation is but also shows just how good The Black Legion really are.

The battlefields leading to the Loghorrean are one of the most lively ones as they are filled with Black Legion fighting the enemy. This might not be directly related to the base itself but I feel this detail is truly amazing showing how humanity is still trying to push forward against the enemy

4. Coven's Refuge -

Spoiler!

Your first base in the expansion Ashes of Malmouth. This one is probably the most aesthetically pleasing of all the bases imo.

The NPCs are quite interesting mostly because this is the first base they had the NPCs react to the choice of your class. You'll be greeted with open arms as an Occultist but looked down upon as an Inquisitor.

Most of their quests are side quests, their reaction to the name "Ulgrim" is the most interesting one. They have their own story tell and add quite a bit to the lore of Grim Dawn. Some of the dialogues of NPCs show how well detailed the game is as you'll be greeted with familiar faces and familiar names (provided you did all the side quests :P)

5. Sewer Hideout and Steelclap District - -

Spoiler!

These two are pretty much the same base and are the second one in Ashes of Malmouth Expansion.

The starting point is Sewer Hideout a dark and gloomy base at first. The NPCs have grim yet interesting tales to share with you. It remains gloomy till you retake Steelclap District Base.

I love this one as it contains my favorite quest i.e retaking your faction's base. The moment you reclaim Steelclap District base a portion of survivors from the Sewer Hideout base move here. This is something I expected to happen with Burrwitch Quest as well but unfortunately it didn't
The actual repair quests are fairly limited. But there are quite a bit of people in need of a rescue.

The main questline related to this one isn't just survival but about you literally retaking an entire city.

The music of Steelclap District is one of my favorite scores in AoM. The transition of the Malmouth Resistance going from survivors to conquerors is pretty nice. When you enter the Candle District for the first time you don't see many resistance members fighting but after retaking Steelclap District you have quite a bit of Resistance Members fighting aetherials which is a nice little detail.

The dialogue of each NPC is well written as usual. This is also the town where you learn the most about the aetherials and how not all of them are our enemy

6. Conclave of The Three -

Spoiler!

The first base of the expansion Forgotten Gods. This base is thematically different from all the previous bases which is in-Line with the entire expac.

The music is nice. The NPCs here have interesting things to share if you have completed the base game. There are two NPCs here who are interesting yet lack any significant quests - Kanatha and Atrin.

The base lacks repair quests and has limited rescue quests which is actually a good thing as it is in-line with the theme of the expac. Unlike the previous bases which mostly were a settlement of survivors with the exception of Fort Ikon and the Coven. The Conclave is a gathering of the followers of The Three Witch Gods along with few additional "helpers". Not to mention the area in which it is set in hasn't had too many humans in ages.

Decent base but a quest or two Atrin and Kanatha could make it better and more livelier imo.

7. Vanguard of The Three -

Spoiler!

The Fort Ikon of this expansion. The Vanguard is the second base of the Forgotten Gods expansion and the final starting base in Grim Dawn.

Just like Fort Ikon it is a no nonsense base where you only get relevant quests has a good layout. Interesting NPCs who have quite a bit of things to share

The battlefields leading to Korvaak's resting area are nicely designed.

every base has its own fun its hard to choose for me but i like the homestead especially because of the music.

Devil's Crossing all the way. It's felt like the "center" of the game since beta 6 years ago...and we can't even cross that third bridge yet!!!

Conclave of the Three is cool. There's only one exit/pathway...but it's the start of a new adventure!

Homestead is officially the worst town in the game, because that's when the game starts locking content behind quests. Unfortunately most of the following towns pull the same shit, so they fit into the same "bottom tier" category.